Batman Villains: Poison Ivy

Bio: Originally from Seattle, Pamela Lillian Isley was raised into a wealthy family and quickly grew a fascination with botany. She later studied botanical biochemistry, and became seduced be her professor, Dr. Jason Woodrue. She becomes Woodrue's personal assistant in his many experiments involving poisons and toxins. Several of the experiments nearly kill her, and Woodrue decides to flee from authorities, leaving Pamela severely transformed in the hospital. Pamela becomes insane from the poisonous experiments, and develops severe mood swings. She drops out of school and moves to Gotham City where she discovers her new found powers, and becomes the criminal mastermind known as Poison Ivy. She begins her life of crime, with a goal to create a plant environment free of humans. It is not long until she is captured by Batman and sent to Arkham Asylum. From this point on, she develops an obsession to defeat Batman. While in prison she is rescued by her former mentor Dr. Woodrue who has also been transformed into a freak, with the new identity as Floronic Man. Once she is freed from prison, Poison Ivy turns against the man guilty for making her insane, and leaves the Floronic Man for Batman to decapitate. She thus begins her endless rivalry with Batman to take over Gotham City.

Powers and Abilities: Poison Ivy has a high amount of plant based toxins in her blood stream, that makes her touch poisonous and gives her immunity to all forms of poisons, viruses, bacterias, and fungi. She is more plant than human, and requires sunlight to survive. She is often able to use mind control, by emitting pheromones (a form of communication through chemical signals). She has total manipulation over the most toxic of plants, and can use her knowledge and control of these plants to create some of the most deadly drugs, potions, and chemicals known to Gotham City. She is a notorious seductress, and her kiss is deadly due to the poison that flows in her veins.

Media Portrayal: She has a long extensive role in the comics, with a deep back-story rooted in her raising in Seattle. When she comes to Gotham she quickly threatens the city with her new found powers. Following the great earthquake in Gotham she settles in Robinson Park where she nurtures the plants and creates a tropical paradise. She makes many alliances with other villains such as Clayface and most notably Harley Quinn, whom she rescues and develops a very close friendship with. She despises the Joker, and constantly tries to convince Harley to stay away from him.

In the animated series her powers were limited, and her only real power was immunity to poison. She is still a master botanist, and uses her extensive knowledge and obsession with plants as the ultimate weapon. She creates a deadly toxic lipstick, that can kill anyone she kisses.

In the film, Batman and Robin she was poorly portrayed by Uma Thurman, and donned a ridiculous looking costume. The character was incredibly lame and cheesy, and lacked that seductive, vixen-like appeal that makes Poison Ivy such a catch. Everything about the portrayal was wrong, from the costume, the personality, to especially the casting of Uma Thurman.

She was once again brought to life in the video game, Arkham Asylum, with an obsessive scheme that went well with her smoking new look.

I hope she is portrayed in one of Nolan's films. I think Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes/Wedding Crashers) could really rock that green costume and create a more twisted, darker, and sexier Poison Ivy, unlike we've seen before.

The Appeal: Poison Ivy is an obsessed environmentalist, who wants to rid the world of humanity so that she can live in peace with her plants. She claims to be more plant than human, and considers herself the mother and nurturer of all plants. She is an extremely difficult adversary for Batman, and brings a new unique challenge to the table, not through sheer force but through natural force. She also has an incredible erotic seduction to her persona, making her the ultimate femme-fatale in Gotham City.

Batman Villains: Scarecrow

Bio: As a child Johnathon Crane was bullied due to his nerdy, lanky appearance. He was easily frightened by many things including darkness and bats. He later became obsessed with studying the psychology of fear, and became an expert doctor in the field. He worked as one of the chief psychologists at Arkham Asylum. During his sessions he would often perform fear-inducing experiments on his patients. He was later fired due to his unusual behavior. Dr. Johnathon Crane thus turned to crime, and developed a new persona, known as the Scarecrow. With his horrifying scarecrow mask, and a variety of toxins he is able to manipulate people through fear. The Scarecrow becomes one of Batman's major foes, always exploiting his fear of bats.

Powers and Abilities: He is a master of psychology and uses his knowledge of fear against his adversaries. He uses chemicals and toxins to hallucinate his victims, into a true state of fear. Through these toxins he is able to exploit their biggest fears and phobias. He wears a creepy scarecrow mask to enhance the hallucination. He is an expert in crane style combat, a form of violent dancing. He also often carries a pitchfork as a weapon.

Media Portrayal: In the comics he causes havoc through Gotham City, with his fear-inducing schemes, until he is finally defeated by Batman and Robin. They send him to the Gotham State Penitentiary yet he is later able to escape. He often teams up with other villains to contribute his psychological specialties in bringing down Batman or Gotham City.

His portrayal in the Animated Series, was horrifying as a child, and he was always one of my favorite villains in the series, because of his creepy madness. He had a lanky costume, a spooky mask, and a crazy demeanor. I remember he inspired me so much, that I once spent an entire night trying to draw and color him. The drawing was one of my best animations I'd ever done at that age, and I decided to submit it to a magazine, yet never made it in. I believe the magazine was "Highlights".

In the film, Batman Begins he is portrayed by Cillian Murphy who works in Arkham Asylum as a mastermind chief pyschologist. He is quickly accused of foul-play for always declaring his patients insane, so they do not have to go prison. He works with mobster, Carmine Falcone, yet his true boss is Ra's al Ghul, whom he develops a fear toxin with. During his sessions, Johnathon crane puts on his mask and sprays his toxin at his victims, making their fears come to life. This is done brilliantly throughout the movie, especially when we see the effect for the first time. Along with Ra's al Ghul he plans to put this toxin into Gotham's water supply, and have the city turn on itself. His classic line in the movie, is when he sets Batman aflame, and says, "You want my advice, you need to lighten up!"

In the video game, Arkham Asylum, he becomes a major boss three times throughout the game, in a non-linear structure. He will completely take over what ever it is you are doing, and manipulate Batman into falling into his trap. Batman is thus transported to his world, where he must climb through many obstacles and avoid the Scarecrow's deadly glare. It's not an easy task, and the game does a very good job of bringing the Scarecrow's dark creepiness into the objective.

The Appeal: His downright mad creepiness. As a child he was the most scary of all Batman villains, and for that reason I feel it is necessary to glorify him. He is a genius in psychology, and along with his lanky appearance and crazy personality he is truly the epitome of a Scarecrow. He is able to transport Batman into a world of fear, where he discovers his past-life, and his phobia of bats. I think this villain is extremely original, and one of the DC comic series' most clever and twisted creation.

Regarding Western Michigan

Being only 30 minute east of Battle Creek, the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan has a significant history in my family. Mostly due to the fact that along with my dad, several other of my aunts, uncles, and cousins attended the university of Western Michigan. My uncle Carl himself lived in the city for nearly 20 years, before he moved to Indianapolis. My dad attended the university to study music and said he had greatly enjoyed his time there. It's a city I've always known of yet never had visited. Well just this last week, I was assigned to work a game there, and finally was able to see the university I had always heard of.

I got there early Monday morning in my Knight Rider, and met up with an older co-worker named Steve, who was very strung-out and on-edge the entire time. He seemed like he was on coke or something, because he could never stay still for more than 5 seconds. I must say that the job did not go very smoothly, and was hands down my most stressful one this year. On set day everything that could go wrong, went wrong, and we were there working until 7pm. The next day problems continued to persist, and along with the cold rain, things were just never easy. The entire crew were just unhelpful, rude, and very lazy, making things even harder. I was very happy once the job was done...

As for Western Michigan, the campus was very nice, yet the stadium was even nicer. The stadium was very new and was connected to a practice facility. It was set inside a valley surrounded by trees and hills. You could not see from the highway, since you had to drive down a hill to get to. It was a very unique design, and due to our two long days, I got to explore this stadium more than any other this year. As for the people there, all were very friendly. The local utilities were all my age, friendly sociable people, who were quick to help me whenever I asked. I also met several other stadium staff, who also were friendly and talkative people. After set day, me and Steve went out to B-dubs for a well deserved beer along with some good chicken wings. One thing I noticed, and have to come to conclude is that Michigan loves them some hockey. It's always something I've noticed every time I've been to a bar in Michigan.

Regarding Ball State

It was about 2 weeks ago, when I drove out to Muncie to work a game at Ball State, and I've been meaning to write this post for some time now, yet have just been way to busy. The past 2 weeks have been some of the busiest days in my life, yet now I finally have some breathing room this Thanksgiving weekend... Anyway, I thought I'd take this free time to make a few posts of some worthy subjects... The first being of Ball State, a college of which I have low regards for...

I hope I do not offend any Ball State Cardinals too much here, but I just have to say it like it is... The city is the flat out pits! A nesting place for all the white trash, rednecks, and heffers in the Midwest... I've recently discovered that Ball State is the Greenest College in the country. Meaning they really emphasize the importance of healthy living, healthy eating (lots of organic food here) and sustaining the environment... Yet it must be in a early phase, since I surely don't see any results. The city is surrounded by factories, the campus isn't very impressive, and almost every person there is on the obese scale. I'm happy to know that they are the greenest of colleges, yet I guess I'm justing waiting to see some results.

So I actually do have some history with Ball State, maybe not as much as Purdue or MSU, but there have been several experiences here and there. Back in High School when it was time to begin my college search, Ball State was definitely a contender, and i had other friends as well who were considering it. I always remember I enjoyed their commercial with their catchy jingle, "Ball State University... Everything you need!" During my junior year of high school, I took a very memorable road trip with my friends, Jaybo, David Rodriguez, and Sergio to visit the campus. We drank the entire way down, got a tour of the campus, and flirted with one very hot cheerleader. I'll never forget on the way out, Jaybo accidentally ran over a goose... At the time I think I enjoyed Ball State, and the visit gave me one of my first inside looks at the campus life.

As things would go I chose IU and many of my friends joined me on that decision, while others chose to go to Ball State. Throughout my four years of college, I visited my friends at Ball State two times, both were somewhat memorable experiences.

I remember the first time was back in my junior year, I drove down with Palmer to visit Jaybo and Brittany Reher. We stayed at Jaybo's place, who had a really nice house with a fireplace and the works. He made us some amazing bacon burgers, and that night Brittany joined us to go to a party. It was a marker-party, where people where white t-shirts and write on each other's shirts with markers. I remember the party being very lame, and me and my Palms were constantly joking how we wished we hadn't missed a weekend at IU for this. We went to a bar afterwards with Jaybo, and ordered some dark beers with cigars. The next day we joined Jaybo for an afternoon drink at a Pub that had over 200 types of beers. It was pretty awesome as we sat in the bar during daytime, playing good songs from the jukebox, talking, and ordering beers from all around the world. That was the highlight of the trip. On our way out, my Toyota truck got a flat tire, and Jaybo had to come help us. I bought him some Applebee's for his help. We didn't get back to Bloomington till late Sunday night, but I was happy once we finally did.

Another story of interest concerning Ball State, was actually a weekend at IU. Brittany brought several of her friends, who happened to be somewhat large. That night we drove around for hours trying to find a party yet could not get anywhere. We joked amongst ourselves that it was the bad luck of bringing the "Ball State Bitches" as we called them. Because they actually were bitches. The funniest part of the night had to be when they were fighting over the last piece of the pizza. That's when things just came into perspective.

The next experience was my senior year in college, we went to visit Jill Davidson, Brittany, and her friend Christina Emmons, a girl of which I had somewhat of an interest in. We pre-gamed at Jill's place, got some Taco Bell, then went out to the bars. That night there were some reality TV stars at the bar, and the place was packed with girls. Nothing too memorable happened that night, yet I do remember tossing a bottle of beer at the bar, of which I think I got thrown out for. I was definetely pretty drunk... I also remember that night we loss an hour, for daylight savings, and before we knew it, it was 4am... The next morning, I awoke to the sound of Palmer spraying the futon of which he had pissed on during his sleep... It was all pretty funny. After saying goodbye to everyone we left that afternoon back to B-town.

So in conclusion I would say Ball State is definitely a tier below a Big Ten college, yet has potential. The fact that they are the greenest college in the country, makes me proud that it is located here in Indiana, and I live only an hour away from it. I just hope that it's students can eventually incorporate that philosophy of a green healthy lifestyle!

My Brand New Car!!

Okay so I kind of went on an impulse on this one, yet this was something that just had to be done. I've needed my own car for some time now, yet have been hesitant, waiting for the right time. Well that time finally came today. When I woke up this morning I fixed a cup of coffee, and began some researching on Cars.com... And there I saw it. The perfect car! A black 2005 Chevy Cobalt, under 50,000 miles and under $7000... I knew it was now or never, since today was the only day I had a little bit of free-time. So after talking it over with my dad, we decided to act upon it, and drove out to the Kelley Automotive Superstore out on Illinois Rd. Mike Hamilton was his name, my first ever experience with a car dealer. He was a friendly guy, a fellow Hoosier, and didn't play any price games with us. We took the Cobalt out for a spin, and I was satisified. He showed me some other options, yet my mind was already set the minute I got there. We then did the paperwork and the financing, of which I recieved a little criticsm for not taking the warranty. Those insurance gimmicks can just go to hell, if you ask me! Shortly after I got the car insured for an extremely unfair high price, then had the information faxed and by 1pm I was driving out of the parking lot, with my brand new 2005 Chevy Cobalt... I'm very excited... I haven't had my own car since the Toyota Truck, and this one being new and all I know I will be very attached. I especially enjoy the Batman-like shiny black color... I've decided to call it the Night Rider!!!

Batman: Arkham Asylum

For the past few weeks now, I have emerged myself into this game for our Xbox. It had become my late night ritual after getting home from UHA, where I could get away from everything and take on Gotham City. I must say it was this game, that re-ignited my current obsession with the Batman universe. Well after many nights, I finally beat it tonight, and am ready to give a full review: It's an all-around great game, a darker game, very similar to the re-vamped Nolan series. Most of the voice-cast was from the Animated Series, which won more points in my book. In the story, the Joker takes over the Arkham insane asylum, and frees many of it's prisoners such as Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, Victor Zsasz, and the Scarecrow. He takes Commissioner Gordon prisoner, and intends to poison Gotham City's water supply. Throughout the game Batman must journey all across the island, with some guiding help from Oracle, to re-gain control. The game is full of puzzles, high gadgetry and weapons, complex maps, and some awesome hand-to-hand combat play. And the graphics are simply astonishing! It does take a little while to get the hang of it, especially using detective mode. One of the most annoying parts for me, was navigating the map and finding your way through some extremely dark locations. It's definitely a mature game, not for children, and I would highly recommend it for your serious gamer or Batman fan!

Batman Villains: The Riddler

Bio: As a child Edward Nigma steals a puzzle book from his teacher and masters the art of puzzle solving. He gets through school with ease, yet is abused by his jealous father, for not possessing the intelligence of his son. As a young adult Edward works many jobs, such as a carnival performer where he uses his mastery of puzzles to cheat customers out of their money. He eventually gets bored with this lifestyle, and longing for a greater challenge he creates the disguise of the Riddler. Dressed in a green suit, green hat, mask, and a notorious question-mark cane. He starts as a double informant for the criminal underground as well as for Batman, whom he considers his biggest adversary. The Riddler eventually becomes one of Batman's biggest enemies. He drives Batman insane by always testing his analytical problem-solving skills to their limit.

Powers and Abilities: He is extremely intelligent and a master problem-solver. His specialties are puzzles, mind games, and manipulation. He also has a wealthy fortune of which he has acquired from crime. He always walks with a cane that has a question-mark as a handle. He does not carry many weapons, unless it's something related to a puzzle gimmick. His brain power makes up for his average physical strength.

Media Portrayal: In the comics the Riddler always sets up a scenario where Batman has to choose the outcome. Yet in almost every case the Batman manages to find a third option and escape a potential life threatening puzzle.

The most memorable portrayal of the Riddler to date was Jim Carrey's performance in the 1995 film, Batman Forever. I must say I enjoyed the film at the time, and it brought me a further appreciation of the franchise. I remember Philip and I purchased the video game for Super NES, yet could never beat it. I think Jim Carrey was a good choice to play the part, and to my memory he did a fairly decent job. Yet my biggest complaint was it lacked seriousness or darkness. Instead he was dressed in ridiculous skin-tight green pajama suit, and had a terrible orange hairstyle. The storyline had a complex theme that was true to the Riddler's character, yet at the same time it was just flat out cheesy. All-in-all I'd say the portrayal was simply mis-directed.

Rumor has it The Riddler will be the main antagonist in the 3rd installment of Nolan's darker series. The question is who could play the part. There's much desire for Depp to play the villain, and I have no doubt that he would be a perfect fit, yet I don't think it's fair to count others out. I mean who would have ever thought that Heath Ledger, Mr. Brokeback Mountain himself, could create one of the most memorable villains in movie history. Therefore, I have faith in Nolan's casting decisions.

The Appeal: He is the one super-villain who doesn't need weapons or combat to defeat Batman. Instead he uses his brain as his ultimate weapon. He is a master schemer and comes up with extremely complex puzzles for the Batman to solve. Just like the Joker or Harley Quinn everything is a big game to The Riddler, and he is willing to destroy Gotham City, only so he can prove that he is the smartest man alive.

Batman Villains: Two-Face

Bio: Abused as a child, Harvey Dent still manages to rise the political ladder and eventually become Gotham City's youngest District Attorney. He is elected 6 months before Batman begins his war on crime. He is nicknamed "Apollo" and "The White Knight" for his clean-cut determination and his eagerness to rid the streets of crime. He later forms an alliance with the Chief Police Officer James Gordon and Batman. Harvey's campaign comes to an end, when crime boss Sal Maroni disfigures half of his face with sulfuric acid. He is driven mad by his horrific appearance, and escapes the hospital to hide in the sewers. After several weeks he re-emerges as the insane Two-Face, out to take revenge on the mob. Once he enacts his revenge, he himself becomes a twisted crime boss and villain, who uses the chance of a coin-flip to make his decisions.

Powers and Abilities:Back when they were friends, Batman trained Harvey Dent in basic hand-to-hand combat. As a crime boss he has many henchmen working under him as well as a large arsenal of weapons; guns, knives, rocket launchers, and poison gases. He is obsessed with the number 2, and always leaves his important decisions to the flip of a scarred coin.

Media Portrayal: In the comics Two-Face becomes a super villain of Gotham City, the complete opposite of his heroic life as District Attorney. As a major crime boss, he crusades against his many enemies; the mob, his father, Commissioner Gordon, Batman, and Gotham City.

In the animated series, he is dressed in a black-and-white mobster suit, with half of his face disfigured, blueish skin and white hair. He mostly battles with other crime bosses, yet his biggest battle is always against himself. In one episode he is nearly killed by Poison Ivy, who seduces him with a poisonousness kiss, thought Batman is able to save him.

Two Face has been portrayed in three films; The first was a minor role played by Billy Dee Williams in the 1989 film Batman, where he played Harvey Dent leading up to his incident.

In the film, Batman Forever, Tommy Lee Jones played the part as one of the major antagonists alongside the Riddler. Tommy Lee did a fairly well job, yet took away the seriousness of the character and instead brought out the madness. He also had two sexy girlfriends in the movie, Sugar & Spice to match both sides.

His most recent portrayal was by Aaron Eackhart in the film, The Dark Knight. In this film we mostly saw Harvey Dent's rise and fall as the District Attorney of Gotham City. He put away many criminals, and became known as the White Knight of Gotham, until he got caught-up in the Joker's master scheme. His girlfriend was killed, and his face was disfigured in a terrible explosion. Towards the end of the movie he became the Two-Face, but by the point I think Heath Ledger's Joker had already stolen the show. An all around good performance as Harvey Dent, yet not enough Two-Face in the film... Some speculate that he will return in the next film. We shall see.

The Appeal: Just as his name suggests, the Two-Face has two personalities. A good side; heroic and incorruptible, which is his former self as the clean cut District Attorney, Harvey Dent. And then the evil side; out for vengeance for what happened to his face, the loss of his girlfriend, and being abused as a child. He is at constant battle with himself, trying to choose which side to act upon, and thus uses his signature coin to make his decisions. He emerges himself in the crime world, out for power and vengeance, and thus becomes a major player and a super-villain of Gotham City. Batman's former friendship with Harvey Dent, makes it all the harder for him to bring justice upon the Two-Face.

Batman Villains: Harley Quinn

Bio: Harleen Quinzel majored in psychology, with a very high IQ yet not much common sense. She lands an internship at Arkham Asylum where she becomes very interested in the Joker. She is assigned to analyze him and during their sessions she quickly falls madly in love with him. Harleen helps the Joker escape a number of times, all of which Batman intervenes and brings him back. She eventually grows annoyed with Batman, and becomes Harley Quinn, the Joker's sidekick, dressed in a red and black Jester costume. She becomes as insane as the Joker, causing havoc and chaos in Gotham City. Harley Quinn also develops a very close friendship with another one of Batman's enemies, Poison Ivy.

Powers and Abilities: Harley's biggest threat is her insane madness, her seduction, and her blind love for the Joker. She is extremely acrobatic, and was once a gymnast at Gotham State University. She uses many weapons, often seen with a gun or a large wooden mallet. She also has two pet hyenas of which she calls her babies.


Media Portrayal: She was first created in the Animated Series, as a sidekick to the Joker. In the first portrayals she is obsessed with him, and does anything he wants. It is eventually discovered that the feeling isn't quite mutual, and in one story the Joker sends her off on a rocket. She is found by Poison Ivy, who takes care of her and gets her back up on her feet. Poison Ivy and Harley develop a strong friendship and work together to cause havoc on Gotham City. Although Poison Ivy despises the Joker, Harley can never get over him, and returns back to him claiming that he was only joking.

In the video game Arkham Asylum, she wears a new schoolgirl costume. She helps the Joker takeover the island and puts Batman in many situations that he must overcome.

She has yet to be portrayed in film, yet I really hope Christopher Nolan can bring her insane seductive character to the screen. I think Brittany Murphy (Sin City) could play the part pretty well...


The Appeal: She is a sexy insane vixen, who specializes in seduction. Just like the Joker, everything is a joke to her, one big game. She may not be much of a challenge for the Batman, yet she is still quite the formidable opponent. She always manages to create some form of challenge... I especially find her red & black Jester costume very appealing...

Batman Villains: Mr. Freeze

Bio: As a child Victor Fries develops a strange fascination of freezing animals, and is eventually sent to a strict boarding school by his concerned parents. While at the school he falls in love with a woman named Nora and later marries her. He becomes a molecular biologist, and works for a ruthless company under the evil CEO Ferris Boyle. His wife later becomes extremely ill, and he decides to secretly use company equipment to sustain her until he can find a cure. Ferris Boyle, eventually discovers the operation and he and Victor Fries get into a scuffle, which results in Victor falling over a table of chemicals. The chemicals nearly kill Victor Fries, and cause him to survive only at sub-zero temperatures. He is then forced to wear a special suit that keeps his body at low temperatures. Along with his suit, he creates a freeze gun as his primary weapon. He is thus transformed into a super villain known as Mr. Freeze out for revenge. His first act completely backfires on him, when he decides to seek revenge against his boss, Ferris Boyle. Batman interferes with his plans, and during the scuffle Mr. Freeze fires a shot that misses Batman, and instead destroys his wife's capsule. Infuriated by losing what he loves most, Mr. Freeze turns his hatred towards Batman and swears to someday return the favor.

Powers and Abilities: He is a cold killer with nothing to lose, seeking revenge for the loss of his wife. His refrigeration suit gives him superhuman strength and durability. His ice cold freezing-beam can freeze anything in it's path. He is also extremely smart, with a great understanding of science and chemicals.

Media Portrayal: In the comics, Mr. Freeze almost always works alone, freezing anything and everything in his path. In one story he is hired as a hitman for another of Batman's enemies, known as the Black Mask.

In the animated series, he was portrayed brilliantly, as a scientist madly in love, who suffered a freak accident. After losing his wife, he falls into madness, transformed into the super villain known as Mr. Freeze. He carries her memory inside a snow globe.

In the disgraceful movie, Batman and Robin, he was poorly portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie was full of typical Schwarzenegger cheesy lines, and bad acting. The suit was also terribly, altered from the comics into some form of metallic cyborg.

The Appeal: Mr. Freeze is as cold as his name suggests, miserable from the loss of his wife. He decides to share his misery with the entirety of Gotham City, especially Batman for whom he blames for his misery. The common person can't help but sympathize for Mr. Freeze, who was once a good hearted man, deep in love, and then became loss in madness. He is a unique character, with a cold force to match his cold fury....

Batman Villains: The Penguin

Bio: As a young child, Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, was raised into a high-class society, yet was rejected by many due to his short, obese stature and his beak-like nose. He was given the nickname Penguin at an early age due to his appearance and obsession for birds. This rejection from his peers, causes him to take part in the criminal underworld of Gotham City. With his family's wealth he is able to become a major player and opens up a very popular nightclub known as the Iceberg Lounge. He remains true to his status as a high-class gentlemen, always dressed in formal wear, a tuxedo, a top-hat, and an eye-glass. He also carries around an umbrella of which he has personalized into a deadly weapon.

Powers and Abilities: He is a brilliant business-man and strategist, with a good understanding of the underground criminal world. He uses his sly wit to achieve greater wealth and power within the city. He has many henchmen who usually do his dirty-work, yet he himself is not afraid of hand-to-hand combat. His most deadly weapon is his umbrella that ranges from a blade, a machine gun, a flame-thrower, or even a missile launcher.

Media Portrayal: In the comics, Batman tolerates the Penguin's corruption as long as he serves as an informer. Nonetheless he still serves as an ultimate schemer for profit and power in the city. He is constantly at war with other gangs, and his power in the underworld makes him a threat to civility and thus an arch-nemesis of Batman.

In one of the Batman animated cartoons, it is revealed that he has a grudge against Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred, who abandoned the Cobblepot family to serve the Wayne Manor.

In the 1992 film "Batman Returns", the Penguin was portrayed by Danny Devito. I must admit at the time I enjoyed the film, and admired Devito's grotesque performance as the Penguin. Tim Burton did a good job of bringing a darker side to Gotham City. Yet as I come to think of it now, I feel the Penguin was wrongly portrayed as more of a freak, instead of the classy mobster that he is.

The Appeal: For a city as corrupt as Gotham, it is no surprise that a Mobster Boss such as the Penguin could be such a threat. He is hands down the defining boss of the organized crime of Gotham City. He is full of character; from his appearance, his stature, his beak nose, his eye-glass, his cigarette holder, his tuxedo, his top-hat, the way he moves, the way he talks, and his catch phrase laugh, "Waugh, Waugh, Waugh..." He is the epitome of a penguin, that has rose to power to bring further corruption to Gotham. He is both funny and twisted, and all-in-all makes for a very interesting villain in the Batman Universe.

Batman Villains: Ra's al Ghul

Bio: His early story is somewhat complex, where it is generally understood that he was raised by a tribe of nomads somewhere in the Arabian desert. He became interested in science and later moves to a city where he falls in love with a woman named Sora. He discovers the secret of partial immortality within the Lazarus Pit. His wife is later strangled to death by the mad prince of the city. Ra's then begins his quest for vengeance, where he kills both the king and the prince, burns the entire city to the ground, and declares himself the "Demons Head"... He then spends the next several centuries journeying the world, fighting in Napoleonic Wars and the French Revolution. He becomes a master of combat and martial arts, and eventually establishes The Demon, which becomes an international organization of assassins.

Powers and Abilities: Since he has lived for so long, Ra's has acquired countless skills in combat, martial arts, science, and pure wisdom... He has many international contacts as well as a vast wealth gained over the centuries. He favors ancient weaponry such as the sword, bola, smoke pellets, and explosives. His combat style is very similar to the tactics and weapons Batman uses. His greatest weapon is his ability to re-heal himself and live as an immortal through the Lazarus Pit.

Media Portrayals: In the comics he unleashes a deadly virus on Gotham City, of which Batman must team up with allies to travel the world to find the source of the virus.

His daughter Talia al Ghul plays an important role in the series, always torn between her love for Batman and loyalty to her evil father. She later has a child with Bruce Wayne, the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul. She is portrayed as a smoking hot vixen, half Chinese-half Arabic...

In the animated series, Ra's Al Ghul adopts Batman as his heir, with hopes that he can cleanse the world of humanity and find true immortality.

In the film, Batman Begins, he was portrayed brilliantly by Liam Neeson and Ken Watanbee... In the beginning he acted as the character Henri Ducard, who trained Batman in ancient martial arts and to fight for justice. Yet it is later revealed that Ducard is secretly Ra'sal Ghul with the intention to completely eliminate Gotham City, of which he considers the source of all evil in the world.


The Appeal: I must confess that I really didn't understand Ra's importance until I saw the movie Batman Begins. He is Batman's ultimate arch-nemesis, perhaps right behind the Joker. He is a mastermind, who believes in eye-for-an-eye justice, and is out for the complete destruction of Gotham city... Although his motives are understandable his means for achieving those motives are completely unmerciful. He is a man who has lived for over 700 years, traveled the world, fought in many wars, and is out to put an end to humanity all together.

Batman Villains: Bane

Bio: Was born to serve his father's life sentence in jail... Therefore he was raised in a prison where he became very smart and very strong. He learned from many various teachers including a Jesuit priest. He learned how to fight and at the age of 8 he killed his first man. He was later used as a test subject for a new drug known as Venom. The drug nearly killed him, yet he survived it and as a result became incredibly strong. He then created a system of tubes on his back that would pump that Venom into his brain at least every 12 hours. He eventually escaped from prison and became the unstoppable Bat-breaking villain of Gotham city.

Powers and Abilities: Beyond his obvious sheer strength from the Venom, he is also very intelligent. He taught himself highly advanced scientific equations, as well as 8 different languages, and is considered a superb strategist. He also created his own unique fighting and healing style.


Media Portrayal: In the Comics he was known as the one and only man to have "Broken the Bat"... He was highly regarded by Ra's al Ghul, and was eventually chosen as Ra's heir.

In the Animated Series he is hired as an assassin to kill Batman and establish his reputation as an unstoppable force.

In the film Batman & Robin he is poorly portrayed as a mindless barbarian...

In the video game Arkham Asylum his Venom plays an important part in the storyline, as well as a boss character.

The Appeal: At first glimpse Bane may seem as your typical masked Latin thug, but there is actually more to him. He was unfairly brought into this world, born to die in prison, punished for his father's crimes, and thus forced to adapt to the cruel life of prison and the underworld. He becomes a great adversary of Batman not only because of his super strength, but because of his intelligence.

The Batman Universe

I've been in a Batman Phase lately, much thanks to our recent purchase of Batman: Arkham Asylum for the Xbox... It's a good game, yet very difficult, and once I beat it, I'll have a full review on it. Until then though, I thought I'd go ahead and begin a series on my favorite Batman villains. My interest in Batman began as a kid, watching the animated series. I never really got into the comic books, yet that show was hands down the biggest contributor to pulling me into the Batman universe. As things would go, I later turned my obsession to the Star Wars universe, and Batman became a very distant second. Yet the movies continued to hold my interest; 1-4, which were hit-and-miss (and the 4th "Batman & Robin" became the final straw, which completely disgraced the Batman franchise) Finally director Christopher Nolan, totally redid the series in 2005 with a much darker approach and once again saved the series in his blockbuster films, "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight"... So once again Batman has returned to it's darker roots, like in the comic books and the animated series, far away from the ridiculous TV Series of the 1960s...

So I look forward to filling this blog with artwork from the Batman Universe... Here is a view of the villains who didn't quite make my list...

Cat Woman

She switches from villain to hero, and is one of Batman's many love interests. She's been portrayed in several films now, yet none have really seem to capture my interest. Nonetheless she is the definition of a sexy vixen!


The Ventriloquist/Scarface

This villain use to creep me out. The real villain was not the ventriloquist, yet his puppet known as Scarface who always carried a deadly tommy gun.












Clayface

This angry villain always made it interesting to see how Batman could defeat his clay-like structure.



Killer Croc

Half-reptile, half-man; this creature is sheer strength and rage, and lives in a dungeon, where he causes havoc upon Batman...








The Man-Bat

He was a zoologist doctor turned into a bat, with bat-like abilities and thus became one of Batman's biggest enemies.



The Mad Hatter

Not to be confused with the character from Alice in Wonderland, yet still very similar. This character was a mad-man, trickster, always making things difficult for Batman.

Random Notes

I've been juggling three jobs the past month now. The UHA, the YMCA, and Sportvision. I enjoy my job at UHA, where I work as a teacher, tutor, driver, and cook. It's a job that constantly has me getting involved, and the time just flies by.

Then there is my job at the Y where I work as a kid's gym teacher and counselor. It easy stuff minus the early morning hours of 7-9am... I get paid peanuts there, yet at least I get free membership which I have been taking advantage of.

Then there is Sportvision, who finally got a hold of me, after i landed these other two jobs. Go figure, when it rains it pours, huh... So I've managed to fit several games in on the weekends, and have two more coming up later this month. This one is where the real money is, and it's hard to pass them up on an offer, even though I'm already busy as can be.

Yet I must say as busy as I've been, I sometimes feel like I'm just going through the motions. Like I'm there physically but not mentally. I am very grateful to finally be working again, yet my mind is elsewhere... and I'm sure it shows, but I really don't care. I want to get away from Fort Wayne and move back to Chicago, where each day is an adventure... Or maybe go do some more traveling to South America or Europe... Still so many places to see... So much to do...

Over the past several months, I have found that I enjoy teaching and tutoring... To be able to shape minds and share knowledge is very gratifying... I could see myself doing it for some time to come. The only catch is that I don't want to go back to school. I simply cannot afford it, and I don't want to go further into debt! I know there are many other options out there that don't require a teaching certificate... So we shall see...

Halloween was a good time... I rocked my V costume, the entire evening. First at Gily's house, we gave the trick or treaters quite a show as a I welcomed them in V fashion, and then was later attacked by my brother dressed as Freddy Kruger. We then had us a little dual, where Gabriel would join in as a CIA agent. Some of the kids loved it, while others were scared to tears... After the trick-or-treating, we all went to the Gala, a formal mask party. I was one of the few to arrive in full costume, and I'm sure I surprised many people. It was fun though, the food was excellent, and the band was very entertaining... We danced the night away, costume and all... Serg also stopped by dressed as Clint Eastwood.

I've been lifting a lot lately at the YMCA... I usually go right after work, mostly to do benching and upper-body... No running though. I intend to run the Huff in late December yet probably won't start training until after Thanksgiving. I just recently got better from a terrible flu. It was one of the worst flus I'd had in a while.

I've been getting into a Batman phase lately... Watched "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight", and have been playing "Batman: Arkham Asylum" on our new Xbox 360... It's a dark series, with so much back story to it, of which I want to further explore.

The Xbox 360 was a necessary purchase to finally move away from the childish Wii games... Fifa 10 was the last straw for me, with it's cartoon graphics on the Wii. I'm not a hardcore gamer or anything, but I do prefer some good graphics, with adult-like game play. I'll always be grateful to the Nintendo World, the Mario Franchise, Zelda, etc, yet its time for something new... Still have to buy Fifa 10 though!

Just saw the preview for Invictus, a film directed by Clint Eastwood, with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. It is the story about Nelson Mandela and the 1995 South African Rugby World Cup Championship. I have a feeling it could be the movie the year...